It was past midnight, and the infirmary had finally gone quiet. The retainers were sound asleep in the side quarters, and Haein had turned in hours ago. Vincent opened his eyes, staring up at the plain wooden ceiling. His head throbbed with a dull ache, but his senses were clear.
Beside his cot, Tsuyu was slumped forward in a wooden chair, arms folded on the mattress, fast asleep. A faint smudge of soot still stained her sleeve.
Vincent sat up carefully, wincing as his sore muscles pulled. He slipped his arms beneath Tsuyu, lifting her off the chair as gently as he could. She muttered something in her sleep, shifting against his chest, but didn't wake. He laid her down on the cot, tucked the rough woolen blanket up to her shoulders, and slipped quietly toward the window.
A moment later, he pushed himself up onto the clay tiles of the infirmary roof. The midnight air was cool and fresh. Vincent took a deep breath, resting his forearms against his drawn-up knees.
"How are you feeling?"
A voice called out from the darkness above. Vincent looked around, startled, until he spotted Kei sitting casually on a thick pine branch that hung near the eaves.
"You're still awake?" Vincent asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Couldn't sleep after everything that happened," Kei said. He pushed off the branch, dropping onto the roof without a sound. He sat down a few feet away, looking out over the quiet streets. "Do you remember any of it?"
Vincent stared at his open hands. "I remember all of it now, Kei. My past. My mother. My father. Westex. The place I grew up." He paused. "And all those innocent people I burned. I still can't believe I did that. Thousands died because I lost control."
"You know none of that was your fault," Kei said evenly. "A paranoid king slaughtered his own citizens. You were fifteen."
"That doesn't change what I did," Vincent replied, a bitter edge in his voice. "For the first time in my life, I was terrified of what was inside me."
"I understand," Kei said. "If that's really how you feel, I won't argue with you. But the fact that it scares you tells me that your terrifying power is in the right hands. True monsters don't lose sleep over the people they burn."
Vincent turned, surprised by the firmness in Kei's tone.
"I met Lady Sora while you were out," Kei continued, watching the moonlight cut across the stone tiles. "She came to your domain through an astral projection while we were inside. A shinigami broke into your spiritual anchor, drawn by the clash of our pocket dimensions. She was in the middle of mending the seal on your core."
Vincent blinked. "Lady Sora? Wait... how long was I actually out?"
"Four days."
"Four days?" Vincent pressed the heel of his palm to his forehead with a low whistle. "No wonder my joints feel like rusted iron. That explains why Eunjoo showed up. I guess my mind was reliving my entire life from the beginning, which is why I remember a lot of things now."
Kei let out a short, quiet exhale that ended in a faint smile. Vincent caught it instantly.
"You know, ever since we crossed into Iona, you've been smiling a lot more, Kei."
Kei looked down at his shoes, clearing his throat. "I guess... I'm becoming a little more human than I used to be."
"Then tell me about yourself," Vincent said, leaning back on his palms. "Before Deikher found you. Before the Fabled Class. It's hardly fair that you know my story while yours are still locked behind that blank, punchable face."
Kei was silent for a long stretch. The wind stirred the dark pine needles around them.
"I never once felt cold growing up," Kei began softly. "Even though Freor has the bitterest winters on the continent. I don't have any memories of a mother or a father. An old hunter took me in, living in a cluster of six small huts. You couldn't really call it a village. People don't settle permanently in Freor — the blizzards bury everything, and the beasts out on the ice plains are relentless."
Down in the dark courtyard below, half-hidden beneath the shadow of the portico, Yejin stood motionless. She had come out to check the perimeter, but the sound of their voices had caught her. Hearing Kei speak of his past, she stayed tucked against the wall, listening in silence.
"There was someone else," Kei murmured, his eyes distant. "A man who still shows up in my dreams sometimes. He has eyes just like mine, except his right eye burns like gold. I still don't know if he was someone real from my early childhood, or just a ghost my mind invented so I wouldn't feel completely alone. When a severe whiteout hit during my eighth winter, the others never woke up. My old man never returned. The frost claimed them all. I was left alone on the ice."
Vincent didn't interrupt.
"I survived by instinct," Kei said. "I hunted beasts ten times my size, butchered meat with stone and dull iron, and slept in hollowed snowdrifts. When merchant scouts eventually found me, they dragged me south to Elion. But you can't civilize something that grew up feral. If someone raised a hand against me, I went for their throat. No hesitation. Soon enough, the local lords marked me as a threat to be put down."
Kei's voice grew quieter; Yejin tried to lean closer to their conversation.
"There was this one boy in the alleys of Vanes. He had stolen a scrap of dried fish to feed a mangy stray cat, and he thought I was going to beat him for stealing. He must have been used to being beaten all his life; he never bothered to be afraid. He even talked to me like I was just another person. I guess I saw myself in that boy."
Kei took a slow breath. "But meeting me killed him. The city watch tracked my trail to that alley. They surrounded us, and because the boy was talking to me, an archer put a bolt through his chest without a second thought. Just to be thorough."
Vincent's jaw tightened.
"I lost my mind," Kei whispered. "I butchered every soldier in that district. By the time Deikher arrived, I was kneeling in the mud beside the boy's body, covered in blood that wasn't mine. Deikher invited me to a duel that day. That if he won, I'd join him in his league, and you know what happened next."
The rooftop went quiet. Below, in the courtyard, Yejin gently touched the wooden rose pin in her hair.
Vincent stared at the moon, letting out a long, heavy breath. "I guess we're not that different after all. Just two stray monsters Deikher dragged in from the cold."
"I'm tired. I'm heading down now to sleep," Kei said, standing up and brushing dust from his coat. "We're visiting Yul in the morning. We haven't seen him since Eralsa."
Vincent nodded, looking out over the sleeping district. "Go ahead. I'll stay up here a little longer. The air feels fresh and good."
Kei nodded.
The next morning, the sky over Goryeong was clear.
Down in the lower wards, market stalls were already putting up their awnings, and ordinary people were starting their daily routines.
Kei, Vincent, and Haein walked alongside Yejin as she led the way toward the upper residential district, where the old military clans kept their private estates.
"The Zu family has served the empire directly for generations," Yejin explained as they turned onto a wide avenue lined with yellowing ginkgo trees. "Yul's grandfather was a decorated swordmaster. After Yul was wounded at Eralsa, High Command offered him a private recovery wing inside the citadel, but he chose to come back to his family's estate instead."
"How bad was it, really?" Vincent asked quietly. He'd avoided the topic all morning, but it had been eating at him since he woke up. "I remember Scorpio swinging that saber, and then..."
"The First Commander took his left arm off just below the shoulder," Yejin said. "The imperial healers managed to stop the bleeding and seal the muscle, but a clean cut like that can't be undone with ordinary prana."
"Man, he must have been in a lot of pain." Vincent said.
They arrived at a set of heavy wooden gates framed by smooth river stone and dark iron studs. Two guards in plain gray coats bowed low the moment they saw Yejin's imperial crest, and opened the gates without a word of question.
Compared to the Choi estate, the Zu estate was modest — dark cedar wood, sliding paper screens, and courtyards of raked gravel dotted with smooth stones and dwarf pine trees.
They rounded the veranda and stopped.
In the middle of the gravel yard stood Yul. He wore loose white training pants and a dark navy vest that left his right arm bare. His left sleeve had been folded neatly and pinned flat against his side. Sweat shone on his forehead and neck as he gripped a heavy wooden practice sword in his right hand, driving one clean vertical strike after another into a thick straw training post.
Even with only one arm, his stance stayed balanced. He was still fast, still strong.
"Still taking it out on the straw dummies?" Yejin called out with a soft smile.
Yul froze mid-swing. He lowered the wooden sword, breathing hard, and wiped his forehead with the back of his right wrist. When he turned and spotted the group, his tired eyes lit up with real warmth.
"Lady Yejin," Yul said, bowing respectfully from the waist. He straightened up and his eyes landed on Vincent and Kei. A small smirk crossed his face. "Well, well. Look who finally decided to pay me a visit."
"Sorry it took a while. A lot's happened lately," Kei said.
"Really? The war only ended a few days ago. You could've at least given yourselves a break," Yul said.
"How are you holding up?" Vincent asked.
"I'm fine. Thanks for asking," Yul answered.
Yejin stepped forward and pulled him into a hug. "I've said it before, but I'll say it again — thank you for staying alive, Yul."
Yul hugged her back. "Thank you, Lady Yejin. Though I guess I'll be stuck sitting still for a while."
Yejin nodded and stepped back to look at him. "Of course — I don't actually expect you to keep being a hwa-samurai after losing an arm. You need to rest. So why are you out here training just now?" She flicked his forehead lightly with her finger.
"Well, injured or not, I don't want my skills to go to waste. I still want to be able to fight. Actually, the Crown Princess came by yesterday and scolded me for swinging a sword this soon after the healers closed the wound. Said if I tore my stitches, she'd lock me in the infirmary herself."
"Should I do that myself instead?" Yejin asked.
Yul smiled. "No, my lady."
Vincent's eyebrows shot up, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "Wait — are you two actually a thing now?"
Yul's neck flushed bright red instantly. He coughed hard into his towel, looking everywhere except at Vincent. "W-we're simply close companions! That's all it is. Nothing official—"
"Uh-huh, sure," Vincent snorted, elbowing Kei. "You hear that, Kei? 'Close companions.' Give it time, he'll be living in the emperor's palace next."
Kei shook his head slightly, though a small smile tugged at his mouth anyway. He stepped forward and gave Yul a respectful little bow. "I'm glad you're really fine."
"Thanks to you, Kei," Yul said, his expression softening as he returned the bow. "I heard what you did to Scorpio after I went down. Breaking the First Commander's jaw like that — there's only one person I know of in Iona who could pull that off. Now, apparently, there are two."
"I broke my own hand doing it," Kei said plainly, holding up his right hand. "He has an unnatural body."
"The Southern Alliance breeds monsters," Yejin said, stepping between them. "Which is exactly why our next move matters. High Command has called us to the Imperial Palace for the formal commendation ceremony. The Emperor himself will hand out our badges and bounties there."
Yul straightened up, slipping back into the posture of an imperial soldier. "I got the summons this morning. My mother's already had our carriage prepared."
"And after the ceremony," Kei said, meeting Yejin's eyes, "we take the petition to Lingwen Fortress."
"To Shengyowon," Yul murmured, his brow creasing slightly. "But Mistress Sheng Lizhan isn't an easy woman to negotiate with. Even with an imperial decree in hand, she doesn't answer to any lord."
"We know," Vincent said, stretching his arms over his head as the morning sun warmed the courtyard. "Which is why we're bringing her daughter's best friend along." He grinned at Yejin. "Right, Princess?"
Yejin rolled her eyes, though the confident smirk on her face said it all. "Leave Maiden Raine to me. Just make sure the three of you look presentable in front of the Emperor first. Got it?"
"Yes, Your Highness," they all said together.